Tray Norman Outside Reading

In the journal article Threats to Wilderness Ecosystems, it gives a very good explanation of the threats that wilderness faces daily. The National Wilderness Preservation System is dedicated to preserving wilderness and its natural ecosystem. These lands have tremendous long-term and ecological value to society because they are the only lands that are relatively unmodified by man. Although these lands are meant to be protected, they are at risk of direct and indirect threat of human activities to the wilderness. Some threats that are already in affect are recreational use and its management, introduction of alien species, emmission of atmospheric pollutants, fire and its management, and management of adjacent lands. The Wilderness Act states that the goal of wilderness designation is "to assume that an increasing population, accompanied by expanding settlement and growing mechanization, does not occupy all areas, leaving no lands designated for preservation and protection in their natural conditions." Therefore, all modern human activities are considered to have the potential to cause departure from natural environment to be threats. These threats can result in impacts which would be detrimental to the ecosystem. Each threat impacts a variety of attributes within the wilderness. These include air, aquatic systems, rocks/landforms, soil, vegetation, animals, cultural resources, and wilderness experiences.